Teresa Perales facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Marchioness of Perales

Personal information
Nationality	Spain
Born	(1975-12-29) 29 December 1975 (age 49) Zaragoza, Spain
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Club	CD Asser: Spain
Medal record Women's para swimming Representing  Spain Paralympic Games Gold 2004 Athens 100 m freestyle Gold 2004 Athens 50 m butterfly Gold 2008 Beijing 50 m freestyle Gold 2008 Beijing 100 m freestyle Gold 2008 Beijing 200 m freestyle Gold 2012 London 100 m freestyle Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro 50 m backstroke Silver 2000 Sydney 50 m butterfly Silver 2004 Athens 4x50 m relay Silver 2008 Beijing 50 m backstroke Silver 2012 London 50 m freestyle Silver 2012 London 200 m freestyle Silver 2012 London 50 m butterfly Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m freestyle Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m medley Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m freestyle Silver 2020 Tokyo 50 m backstroke Bronze 2000 Sydney 50 m freestyle Bronze 2000 Sydney 100 m freestyle Bronze 2000 Sydney 200 m freestyle Bronze 2000 Sydney 50 m backstroke Bronze 2004 Athens 50 m freestyle Bronze 2004 Athens 50 m backstroke Bronze 2004 Athens 100 m breaststroke Bronze 2008 Beijing 100 m breaststroke Bronze 2012 London 100 m breaststroke Bronze 2012 London 200 m medley Bronze 2024 Paris 50 m backstroke S2 World Championships Gold 2015 Glasgow 50 m freestyle S5 Silver 2015 Glasgow 200 m butterfly S5 Silver 2015 Glasgow 50 m freestyle S5 Bronze 2015 Glasgow 200 m freestyle S5 Bronze 2015 Glasgow 200 m medley SM5 European Championships Gold 2014 Eindhoven 50 m freestyle S5 Gold 2014 Eindhoven 50 m backstroke S5 Gold 2014 Eindhoven 100 m freestyle S5 Gold 2014 Eindhoven 4x50 m mixed freestyle relay 20pts Gold 2016 Funchal 100 m freestyle S5 Gold 2016 Funchal 50 m backstroke S5 Gold 2016 Funchal 100m freestyle relay 34pts Silver 2014 Eindhoven 100 m freestyle relay 34pts Silver 2016 Funchal 200 m freestyle S5 Silver 2016 Funchal 50 m butterfly S5 Bronze 2016 Funchal 200m medley SM5 Bronze 2016 Funchal Mixed 50m medley relay 20pts

Teresa Perales Fernández, born on December 29, 1975, is a famous Spanish swimmer, politician, and speaker. She is known as the 1st Marchioness of Perales. Teresa is one of the most successful Paralympic athletes in history. She has won an amazing 28 medals at the Paralympic Games.

Teresa has competed in many Paralympic Games. These include the games in Sydney (2000), Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), London (2012), Rio de Janeiro (2016), Tokyo (2020), and Paris (2024). She is the most decorated Spanish Paralympian ever. At the 2024 Paris Games, she set a new Paralympic record in the women's 100m freestyle (S2).

When she was 19, Teresa was diagnosed with a condition called neuropathy. This meant she lost the use of her legs within three months. After the 2000 Games, she studied to become a physiotherapist. She married Mariano Menor and they later had a son after the 2008 Games. Besides swimming, Teresa has also been a politician, a teacher, a business person, and a motivational speaker. She was a politician with the Aragonese Party (PAR) from 2003 to 2007. She also wrote a book about her life with her husband. Teresa supports many good causes, like Doctors Without Borders.

Teresa started swimming at age 19. A year later, she joined a sports club for people with disabilities in Aragon. In 1997, she won several medals at her first Spanish championships. The next year, she joined the national team and won a bronze medal at the World Championships in New Zealand. She has won at least one medal in every Paralympics, European Championship, and World Championship she has competed in.

Because of her amazing achievements in sports, Teresa has received many awards. These include the Gran Cruz del Mérito Deportivo and the Medalla de Oro de la Real Orden del Mérito Deportivo. She was also named Woman of the Year by the Spanish magazine Mujer hoy.

About Teresa Perales

Teresa Perales was born in Zaragoza, Spain, on December 29, 1975. She has a younger brother. When she was 15, her father passed away, and her mother raised her. At 19, she developed neuropathy, which caused her to lose feeling in her legs. Doctors were not sure how to treat it at first.

When she first left the hospital in a wheelchair, she felt a bit shy. She has very little strength in her legs and cannot feel them. Before her condition, she was active in karate. The last time she walked without help was on May 10, 1995. This was during a celebration for her city's football team, Real Zaragoza. Teresa studied Physiotherapy at the Universidad de Zaragoza from 1996 to 1999.

Family Life

Teresa is married to Mariano Menor and they have a son. She met Mariano, who is a journalist, during the 2000 Sydney Paralympics when he interviewed her. They started dating after the Games. He proposed to her in Paris, near the Eiffel Tower. They got married in 2004, after the Athens Paralympics.

Teresa had a special wedding dress that worked with her wheelchair. She got married in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in 2005. She even stood up from her wheelchair to say her vows. Many important people attended her wedding. Her son was born after the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

Public Roles and Advocacy

Teresa Perales was a politician for the Aragonese Party. She worked as a director for Dependencia (a department helping people with special needs) in 2003. She served as a Deputy in the Cortes de Aragón from 2003 to 2006. She left politics in 2007 and does not plan to return.

In 2008, she worked as an advisor for Sports Development in Zaragoza. She also led a youth group for her political party. In 2011, she was symbolically on the ballot for the Congress of Deputies. She also worked as the CEO of Care Dependence for the Government of Aragon.

In 2007, Teresa and her husband wrote a book about her life called Mi Vida Sobre Ruedas (My Life on Wheels). In 2012, she joined a protest in Madrid against government cuts to services for people with disabilities.

Teresa is also a teacher, a business person, and a motivational speaker. She taught at the Universidad de Zaragoza for two years. She has given speeches at the Universidad San Jorge de Zaragoza. She was the president of a foundation called Fundación Pilotos 4x4 sin Fronteras from 2004 to 2006. She even designed a special chair for herself to use the toilet more easily when traveling in the desert. She supported Madrid's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. She also supports Doctors Without Borders in their work to prevent the spread of AIDS.

Teresa helped organize a charity event in December 2012. This event raised money for Fundación Carlos Sanz, which helps feed people in Aragon. In 2012, she visited India as an ambassador for the Fundación Vicente Ferrer. There, she spoke with women with disabilities from lower castes. She also supported Intermón Oxfam in December 2012.

As of 2013, Teresa lives in Zaragoza.

Swimming Career

Teresa Perales in Zaragoza in January 2013

Teresa Perales is an S5, SB4, SM5 classified Paralympic swimmer. She is a member of the CD Asser: Spain club. She is the most decorated Spanish Paralympian in history. Her coach since 2000 is Angelo Santamaria. When training, Teresa can spend up to six hours a day in the pool and gym. Her favorite swimming style is the 50m butterfly.

Teresa started swimming by chance at age 19 in a pool in Salou. She loved the feeling of being weightless in the water. When she first tried swimming after her condition, she wore a lifejacket. Within a year, she joined a sports club for people with disabilities in Zaragoza.

Early Competitions

In 1997, Teresa won her first national swimming championship. She made her international debut a year later at the World Championships. At the 1999 European Championship in Germany, she won three bronze and three silver medals. Two years later, at the 2001 European Championships in Sweden, she won one gold, four silver, and one bronze medal.

In 2007, she set two new world records in the 100m and 200m freestyle events at the British Championship. These records were her own previous ones from 2002. That year, she also won five gold medals at the United States National Short Course Swimming Championship. By 2008, she had earned 14 medals at the European Championships. In 2008, she won three gold medals at the French Swimming Championships.

After the 2008 Summer Paralympics, Teresa took a break from swimming to have her son. She returned to the pool in April 2011. Her first competition back was the European Championship in Berlin. There, she won one gold, four silver, and three bronze medals. Her performance helped Spain finish third in the medal count.

World Championships Results

Teresa first competed for Spain at the IPC World Championships in New Zealand in 1998. She won a bronze medal in the 50m freestyle. Four years later, at the 2002 IPC World Championship in Argentina, she won five silver and two bronze medals. At the 2006 IPC World Swimming Championship in South Africa, she earned one silver and two bronze medals.

Paralympic Games Achievements

Teresa has competed in seven Paralympic Games. She won her first medals at the Sydney 2000 Games. There, she earned four bronze medals and one silver medal.

At the Athens 2004 Games, when she was 27, Teresa won her first two Paralympic gold medals. She also won three bronze medals and one silver medal. She reached the finals in every event she entered. While in Athens, she visited the Greek Parliament. She was Spain's most decorated athlete at these Games. After the Games, some thought she might retire, but Teresa said she would keep competing. By the end of Athens 2004, she had 11 Paralympic medals in total.

Teresa won three more gold medals at the Beijing 2008 Games. She also won a bronze and a silver medal. She set her first world record at the Paralympics in Beijing. Her first medal, a gold in the 100m freestyle, was Spain's first medal at those Games. It also broke a world record. Her second gold medal was in the 50m freestyle, where she set another world record. By the end of the Beijing Games, she had 16 total medals, tying the record for most medals by a Spanish Paralympian.

During the closing ceremony of the 2008 Games, Teresa was chosen by other athletes to represent them on the International Paralympic Committee Council. She was re-elected after the 2012 Games. She wanted to keep this role to support Madrid's bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Before the London 2012 Games, Teresa was chosen to be Spain's flag-bearer for the opening ceremonies. She received a lot of attention from the media for her performance in London. She won one gold medal (100m freestyle), three silver medals (50m and 200m freestyle, 50m butterfly), and two bronze medals (200m individual medley, 100m breaststroke). She won a medal in all six individual events she entered. After winning gold in the 100m Freestyle S5, she gave her medal to her two-year-old son. The Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, congratulated her on her success. By the end of the London Paralympics, she had collected 22 Paralympic medals in her career. She became a trending topic on Twitter in Spain.

Her six medals in a single Games tied Michael Phelps' record for the most medals won by an Olympian or Paralympian at one Games. Spanish swimmers won 11 medals in London, making swimming the top medal sport for Spain. Teresa had the chance to see Michael Phelps swim in London. The Spanish media often compared her performance to his.

After the 2012 Games, Teresa said she planned to keep competing and aimed for the Rio 2016 Games. She continued to compete in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Summer Paralympics, winning at least one medal in each. At the 2024 Paris Games, she broke the Paralympic record in the women's 100m freestyle (S2).

Paralympic Results Table

Awards and Special Recognition

Teresa Perales received the Gran Cruz del Mérito Deportivo. This is Spain's highest honor for a sportsperson. She was the first Spanish Paralympian to receive this award. She also has the Medalla de Oro de la Real Orden del Mérito Deportivo.

After the 2004 Summer Paralympics, the House of Aragon honored her. In September 2008, Teresa was named the IPC Athlete of the Month. In 2008, she was honored as a "Beloved Daughter" of Zaragoza, her hometown. She also received the Homenaje a las Heroínas medal. This award recognized her as an "example of perseverance, hard work, and tenacity." In 2011, she was featured in La Teoría del Espiralismo, a documentary about five Spanish athletes with disabilities.

In 2012, a sports press association in Zaragoza named her the best female Aragonese athlete of the year. Readers of the newspaper Marca voted her the second-best Spanish athlete that year. She also received a special award at the 2012 AS Award ceremony in Madrid. In September 2012, she was featured in Unidad móvil, a TV special that followed her for 48 hours after her return from the London Paralympics.

Teresa Perales was honored at the 2012 Fiestas del Pilar, a big festival, and gave the opening speech. That year, she also won the "Woman of the Year" award from Mujer hoy magazine. Princess Letizia of Spain presented her with the award. She was also recognized as an outstanding citizen of her hometown in 2012.

The radio station Cadena SER said that Teresa changed the future of Paralympic sport in Spain. Spanish basketball star Laura Gil said she would have given the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or (a top football award) to Teresa.

In 2013, she received the Grand Cross in the Royal Order of Sporting Merit. In 2021, she was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for sports, which is a very important award in Spain.

Since 2022, Teresa Perales has been a Global Advisor for the ACE Global Leaders of Excellence Network. This network connects successful leaders worldwide to share knowledge and help develop international leadership.

Images for kids

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  Teresa Perales

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  Teresa Perales in Zaragoza in January 2013

See also

In Spanish: Teresa Perales para niños